Forensic Imperial Concubine by Erika Black

Arrangements had been made by Francis for Harper to stay in the Sleek Palace. It was a well-known fact to everyone that the
Sleek Palace was the place where the future empress was supposed to live. Meaning to say, Francis did this deliberately and his
purpose could not be more obvious. Harper was someone who held a special place in his heart. Knowing this, Sherry had been
coming over to the Sleek Palace to find fault with Harper. But each time, Francis would come and quickly solve whatever the
trouble was. In order to make sure Sherry wouldn't be able to make any trouble for Harper, he decided to place his mother under
house arrest.
It should go without saying that Sherry was so angry at his decision—so much so that she smashed everything in her palace as
a way to vent her anger. How she wished she could rip Harper into shreds. "That bitch! Bitch!" she cursed spitefully.
"Please don't be angry, My Lady." A maid tried to calm her down.
"Don't be angry? How can I not be angry? She is Matthew's wife! But she is now living in the Sleek Palace! Why on earth would
Francis make such arrangements?" Sherry furiously screamed as her face became contorted. Although Francis was her son,
she was completely clueless as to what was going on inside that mind of his and what he was intending to do.
The maids in waiting didn't dare to speak another word upon seeing the anger in Sherry's eyes. They simply lowered their heads
and backed away. After serving her for quite a while, they had come to realize that anyone who tried to soothe her whenever she
was like that would only end up being severely punished instead. For that reason, they opted to just keep their mouths shut.
After letting off some steam, Sherry finally calmed down little by little. At the same time, she started thinking about the current
situation. Harper posed a great threat to her as well as Francis. After all, the world knew that she was Matthew's wife. Sherry
was well aware of the fact that Francis had a thing for Harper. But she would never let him do whatever he pleased. If he were to
express his feelings for Harper in front of others, he would be deemed unqualified to serve as the next emperor.
"No. I can't just sit back and let her continue to stay here," Sherry exclaimed as she gritted her teeth. "Go and invite Harper here.

I would like to have a word with her." "My Lady, Prince Francis wouldn't allow you..." the maid said, trying to remind her, albeit
hesitantly. "He only forbids me from leaving the palace. It doesn't mean that you can't leave here. It is true that he doesn't want

me to meet Harper, but he never said anything about Harper not being allowed to come here to meet me instead. Just go and
ask her to come here right now!" Sherry snorted with such disdain. One way or another, she was determined to get rid of Harper
so that she
wouldn't pose a threat to Francis. Now that they had come this far after so many hardships, she could not allow Harper to get in
their way. At the gate of Matthew's mansion, a low-key and ordinary carriage pulled over. A maid then walked toward the
mansion and knocked on the door. "We are from the Xiao Clan. We've come here to visit Lady Harper," she said. Hearing this,
the guard glanced at the maid and hesitated for a bit, saying "Miss, I regret to inform you that Lady Harper hasn't been back to
the mansion for quite a while. She is staying in the Imperial Palace at the moment. If you want to see her, you would have to
send the information to the Imperial Palace." Cynthia Xiao, Matthew's cousin, was surprised to hear that. "Harper is Matthew's
wife. Why is she living in the Imperial Palace now? Isn't she supposed to be staying in Matthew's mansion?" she asked in
confusion. "Prince Francis has been seriously injured. For that reason, Lady Harper was ordered to stay in the palace to treat
him," the
guard answered politely. "She hasn't come back ever since she left. So, I'm afraid we cannot let you in and receive you as
guests. Please go back for now."
"Hey, how could you talk to us like that?" the maid yelled out. When the guard closed the door, her finger almost got caught, so
she was so furious and jumped to her feet out of anger.
"Amy, just forget it," Cynthia Xiao ordered. "Let's make a detour to an inn for now. Matthew is currently on the way, escorting
Princess Lilian to the Great Jade Kingdom. Harper is in charge of all the affairs in the mansion. Given that she isn't home at the
moment, no one would dare to allow us to come inside without her permission. That is perfectly understandable. We should just
leave." Amy got inside the carriage, anger still brewing inside of her. "Humph! I've heard that Lady Harper is a jealous woman.

The way I see it, what that guard said isn't making any sense. She is a married woman! How could she stay in the Imperial
Palace for so long? That is just impossible. It's clear to see that she is doing this to turn us down on purpose in order to drive us
away!" Despite hearing that, Cynthia Xiao didn't give her any response. The Xiao Clan hadn't been a part of the court for many

years. Thus, they had little to no influence in the imperial capital. But they were aware of the situation here. Cynthia Xiao knew
that
Harper was indeed staying in the Imperial Palace. However, the reason why she was there wasn't the same as what the guard
had said. As far as Cynthia Xiao was concerned, Harper was deliberately being kept in the Imperial Palace by Francis in order to
threaten Matthew. Harper was probably being held as a hostage.
"My Lady, aren't you the least bit mad at her?" Amy asked, her face burning red with anger. Cynthia Xiao was quite an important
and influential figure in the Xiao Clan. If it weren't for her, the Xiao Clan might not have been willing to allow them to come here.
That being said, the result remained the same, and they were still turned down.
Calmly flipping through the book in her hand, Cynthia Xiao answered, "Why would I become angry? He was only telling the truth,
anyway. She is indeed in the Imperial Palace right now. As for the real reason why she is being kept there, it is not that important
anymore."
"That means we can't get into Prince Matthew's mansion, am I right?" Amy asked, sounding so concerned.
A faint smile crept onto Cynthia Xiao's face. "I've heard that my brother, Rufus, is currently in the imperial capital. I want you to
ask someone to get in touch with him. He and Matthew always get along well. Maybe he can help us get inside Matthew's
mansion."
"Yes, My Lady." Hearing that, Amy felt so relieved. Without delay, she intended to ask someone to contact Rufus at once. But the
second she opened the curtain to give out the order, their carriage was stopped by someone.
"Is Lady Cynthia from the Xiao Clan in the carriage?" Ken asked, leading a group of guards and stopping them in their tracks.
When she heard this, Cynthia Xiao immediately pulled the curtain aside and glanced at the well-armed guards outside. Feeling a
bit confused, she replied, "Yes, I am here. Sirs, why are you stopping us?"
Ken made a bow and answered politely, "It's nice to meet you, Lady Cynthia. Prince Francis heard that someone paid a visit to
Prince Matthew's mansion. So, he was worried that no one would entertain you there. For that reason, he ordered me to come
here to invite you to the Imperial Palace so you can meet Lady Harper.".